As a Wellness Coordinator and Coach for a large school district in Florida, one of the powerful ways that we are working with teachers throughout the month of January is to briefly talk to them about realistic and measurable goals in a seminar situation. But then, we actually give them paper and pencil to write out these future achievements on paper. Research suggests that when an individual transmits a goal to paper, the likelihood of the fulfillment of that goal is much greater than if it was never put in writing. I also will have them place this information into a self-addressed envelope. The profound and meaningful part of this exercise comes one year later. I literally keep all of the letters for one full year. In December, exactly 11 months later, I put all of these year-old letters in the United States snail mail. These individuals can track their own progress privately and see if they achieved the things that they set out to do one year earlier. Most of the time, the employee has forgotten that they wrote this letter (with personal goals) to themselves. They are pleasantly surprised to receive a list of intended improvements from themselves and are delighted to see if they actually accomplished what they set out to achieve in the previous year.
Approaching goal setting with the wellness clients at our med spas can be tricky but if presented correctly, the outcomes can be quite amazing. We tackle a client's personal goals during his or her initial consultation with us upon learning their health history, weight loss goals and main reason for coming into our office (an upcoming vacation, family gathering, wedding, etc.). The strategies we use to help them set realistic, achievable and meaningful goals include: - Asking them what their personal goal weight is - Discovering food triggers (stress, boredom, emotions, grief, etc.) - Finding out what their eating habits are like - Unveiling any physical limitations - Reviewing their current regimen for staying active Based on this information, we can devise a plan WITH each client to make healthier lifestyle adjustments and incorporate more frequent exercise IN ADDITION to taking the GLP-1 medications we commonly prescribe (semaglutide/tirzepatide). Coming up with a plan TOGETHER typically helps our clients feel more involved in their wellness program and ultimately, helps them be more compliant throughout their transformational journey with us.